ADAMS TWP— Screams, banging and gunshots were heard coming from a home on Downieville Road early this morning, hours before daybreak.

A short time later, a man lay dead on steps outside the home.

State police say their major case team is handling a homicide investigation there. However, few other details were initially disclosed.

It was not known if investigators have any suspects. They would not comment about what they knew of the victim, a white man.

Butler County Chief Deputy Coroner John Hanovick pronounced the man dead at 5:38 a.m.

A preliminary cause of death was not immediately known. An autopsy was planned later today.

A neighbor at 3:17 a.m. called 911 after hearing a commotion coming from the home at 141 Downieville Road near the James Austin Co. The stone house is divided into two apartments.

The caller reported she heard arguing and yelling, then banging. Moments later, gunfire rang out.

She peeked outside and spotted at least three people running around. One of those people had a gun.

Soon after the ruckus faded away, police cars and officers flooded the neighborhood.

The man's body was found on steps outside the front of the home.

Adams Township police were first on the scene. State police, Cranberry Township police and the Northern Regional Police Department heard the radio call and quickly arrived to assist. The Allegheny County Emergency Services trailer also was called in.

State police are leading the investigation. Crime scene investigators spent most of the morning looking for evidence and talking to neighbors and any other possible witnesses.

A neighbor who lives two houses away said police came to her home between 5 and 5:30 a.m., asking if she heard the shooting.

“I told them I didn't hear anything,” Mabel Linn said. “I was sleeping.”

She said police advised her to stay inside her home. That same warning was also given to other neighbors.

At the Austin plant, the company locked the facility for several hours, with workers getting into the plant only after being admitted by a supervisor.

A be-on-the-lookout advisory was later issued for a silver car. Police would not immediately comment about the BOLO alert.

The neighborhood where the shooting happened is composed of older homes, many of them built in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, said Gary Peaco, Adams Township's code enforcement officer and building inspector.

He knew nothing about 141 Downieville Road.

“I've never been called there for any reason,” he said.

Butler County real estate records showed the property consists of six lots. The home is owned by a family in Evans City.